


just a bet

by awildcur



Series: i love that johnny coco cruz [7]
Category: Mayans M.C. (TV)
Genre: F/M, Miscommunication
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-27
Updated: 2021-02-27
Packaged: 2021-03-18 18:22:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,702
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29737977
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/awildcur/pseuds/awildcur
Summary: Thanks to a very drunk Angel and Gilly, Reader finds out that Coco is with her because of a bet.(from a request on tumblr)
Relationships: Johnny "Coco" Cruz/Original Female Character(s), Johnny "Coco" Cruz/Reader
Series: i love that johnny coco cruz [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2185551
Comments: 1
Kudos: 12





	just a bet

The clubhouse is packed. Sucias and Mayans from all over are in every direction. You weave your way over to the bar – some prospect from another charter put on duty now that Ez’s a patch – to request a drink and another beer for Coco. Once the prospect turns, you notice two girls down the bar. They stare over their shoulders at you, looking you up and down and shoot daggers your way. You roll your eyes. It’s nothing new. After being with Coco for a few months now, you’re used to it.

You mumble a thanks to the prospect when he hands over the drinks, and move to head back to your spot. Coco’s still where you left him, talking to a brother from Yuma. He doesn’t look back at you when you reclaim your spot, or when you wordlessly hand his beer over. But once he takes the bottle in one hand, he snakes an arm around your waist and pulls you closer to him. You smile and sip on your own drink.

After a while, conversation steers to their bikes – of course. Yuma’s telling Coco about some new something or other he just got for his bike. Your man’s impressed so you guess it must be a big deal. Yuma offers to show him and he immediately agrees. They stand and Coco turns to you.

“You comin’?” he asks.

“Nah,” you shake your head. “I’m good here.”

He nods and follows Yuma outside, leaving you sipping on your now almost empty drink. You’re not alone for long, though. Angel and Gilly break through the crowd. You take just one look at them and know they’re completely shit faced. They stumble over, slurring your name in a greeting as they sit on either side of you.

“You good?” you ask them with a laugh.

“Fuckin’ perfect,” Angel answers, causing you to laugh more.

“Where’s Coco at?” Gilly asks.

“Outside with someone from Yuma, lookin’ at his bike for…” you shrug and throw out a hand gesture, “somethin’.”

They laugh, knowing you don’t know shit about bikes.

“Damn, Coco ain’t educate you yet?” Angel teases.

“Hey,” Gilly says, leaning over you to speak to Angel. “That ain’t the ride he’s been educatin’ her on, homie.”

Your jaw drops as they burst with laughter. You’ve also become close with them since you started dating Coco, but it doesn’t stop you from feeling like the embarrassed little sister who keeps getting teased by her big brothers.

“Yeah, hey,” Angel nudges your shoulder. “You’re welcome for that, by the way.”

Confused, you laugh at this. “Wait, what? The hell do you have to do with it?”

“We bet him to go out with you,” he slurs the confession. “How else would you be with him?”

Gilly loudly shushes him, a finger to his lips. “Brooo, that’s a secret!” he loudly “whispers” to Angel.

“Oh, shit,” Angel mumbles. “My bad… Fuck, man, now he’s got me doin’ it.”

Gilly laughs, joined by Angel soon after. You sit, still as you try to process what Angel just revealed to you. They don’t even seem to realize that you’ve fallen silent, paying them no mind as they go back and forth with each other.

You were just a bet. The cold feeling of humiliation washes over you. You swallow hard, trying to push it down, but it won’t budge. It’s stuck in your throat, choking you as tears begin to sting at your eyes.

“Bathroom” is all you mumble once you’re able to pull yourself to your feet. You stagger through the crowd, not caring who you bump into. You pull the bathroom door open, locking it behind you once you’re inside.

You gasp, the loud noise filling the small, empty room, and pull air into your lungs. The feeling stuck in your throat remains, but it’s much easier to breathe once you’re alone.

You find your reflection in the mirror. The tears that were pooling in your eyes now rolling down your face. A hand reaches up to harshly wipe them away, smudging your makeup in the process. It doesn’t matter. At least now you look how you feel.

Hands tightly clutching the sink, you try to pull yourself together. You won’t cry anymore tears. Not for any man. Not even for him. After putting some water on your face, you make a decision.

Chin up high, you walk out of the bathroom, through the clubhouse, and all the way outside. Coco’s not out there, having gone back inside now. You march over to your car, thankful that Coco asked you to pick up some stuff for the party despite the anger you’re feeling.

Your head spins as you drive. Everything you thought was real – every kiss, every hug, every sweet word – turned out to be bullshit. Coco’s a good actor, you’ll give him that. He’s committed too, letting you move out of the shitty apartment you shared with a roommate from hell and into the new place with him and Letty. Your anger rises as you realize he probably got some sort of sick pleasure out of it. _Asshole._

You pull up in the driveway, crookedly parking the car in a hurry before stalking inside. Moving throughout the house, you pack up your shit, making sure to erase any and every trace of yourself. Coco Cruz doesn’t get to know you anymore. He’s lost that privilege.

But leaving without a word to Letty feels wrong. You start tearing drawers open, looking for a pen and pad to write on. Once found, you scrawl a quick note.

_Letty,_

_I’m sorry for taking off but I had to leave. I can’t be part of this lie anymore. Ask Coco, he’ll know what I mean. Take care of yourself._

After signing your name, you march into Letty’s room and lay it on her bed. Hopefully she finds it soon. Then, you leave, slamming the door behind you.

You drive around aimlessly. The idea of going back to your old apartment pops up but you don’t want to deal with your ex-roommate’s smug face when she finds out the reason for your return. She’s already replaced you, anyway.

Your cell phone lights up with messages, all from Coco. You grab the device, ignoring anything he has to say, and tap to pull up your contacts. Scrolling down, you find the name you want.

_Rosie._ Your coworker. She’s working tonight, tending bar at Juana’s until two in the morning. You call her, hoping she’s on break. The call goes unanswered, and you start to feel hopeless, but the phone starts ringing moments later.

You explain everything in a rush, ending it all with a question of “Can I crash at your place?” She agrees, cursing Coco, and tells you to come by the bar and pick up her keys. You end up staying until the end of her shift, not wanting to be alone. All the while, your phone keeps blowing up.

“Give it to me! I’ll chew his ass out,” Rosie yells.

She reaches over for the phone, but you manage to swipe it out of the way.

“No, just…” you huff in frustration, “I’m not dealing with him right now.” Rosie opens her mouth so you quickly add, “And neither are you.”

Rosie’s couch is comfortable, but you still have trouble falling asleep. Coco’s not faring too well either. He searches all over the party, getting worried that something happened to you as his texts of “wya” go unanswered. When he bumps into Angel and Gilly, he asks if they’ve seen you.

“Yeah, she’s around… somewhere,” Angel answers.

“She got all weird and shit when this cabrón spilled the beans,” Gilly says, hitting Angel in the chest.

Coco looks back and forth at his drunk friends, eyes narrowing. “Fuck you talkin’ about?”

“The bet! She knows that’s why you’re with her.”

Anger flashes across Coco’s face. Jaw clenched, he steps in closer, nose to nose with Angel when he meets his gaze. “You fuckin’ told her that shit?” he grits out.

“Yeah,” Angel shrugs. His drunken confusion is clear, he doesn’t get what the problem is.

“Fuck!” Coco growls, earning looks from around them. He ignores them and stalks off.

He calls your name out once he steps outside, hopelessly searching for you in the dark. He notices Chucky, who tells him he saw you leave.

“She didn’t look very happy,” he says, disclosing this quietly despite there being no one else outside.

“Yeah…” Coco trails off, letting the rest of his sentence go unsaid. _I fuckin’ bet._

He’s not surprised when he doesn’t find you at the house. But he is surprised to find that all your belongings have vanished. Coco practically tears the house up and down, looking for any evidence of your time with him. He barges into Letty’s room on a whim, knowing you never kept anything in there but still looking. Scanning over the room, his eyes find a piece of paper on Letty’s bed.

Coco reads the words over and over. He feels like shit. He needs to explain to you.

If you’ll only give him the chance.

* * *

You wake up late in the afternoon, the thoughts in your mind not letting you rest until nearly five in the morning. Grabbing your phone, you see missed calls, texts and voicemails from Coco all over your notifications. With a groan, you throw it back down, not wanting to deal with him just yet.

“Hey, Sleeping Beauty.”

Looking over, you find Rosie sitting at her table, a Starbucks cup in hand.

“D’you get me one?” you croak, voice still thick with sleep.

“Oops,” she says. “My bad.”

You try to hold in the grimace but fail. It’s not her fault. She doesn’t know.

“Hey, don’t forget. We’re both at the bar tonight,” she reminds you.

You just nod and hum in response, hoping work allows you to get him off your mind for a few hours. Finally, you get up and shower. There’s only a few hours until your shift at eight. Rosie helps you pick out an outfit and do your makeup.

“That Mayan ain’t the only fish in the sea, girl!” she says, in hopes of giving you a confidence boost.

As good as you look on the outside, it’s a stark contrast to how you feel emotionally. But as you walk into the bar, you push it down and ready yourself for the night. The first half of your shift passes quickly, several new patrons and loyal regulars stopping by. With a fake smile plastered on your face, you do your best to be upbeat and friendly – your tips depend on it.

You’re playfully bantering back and forth with a new patron – who just so happens to be handsome _and_ around your age – when Rosie steals your attention.

“Oh, hell no,” she mutters under her breath. She slides over to you and whispers, “Look who just came in.”

Rosie nods over at the entrance, and your eyes follow. They land on the kutte first, before shifting up to his face. He hasn’t seen you yet, a cigarette between his fingers as he scans the establishment.

Coco’s eyes land on you, and you can practically feel the ever intense dark gaze burn right through you. With a puff of his cigarette, he makes his way to the bar. Rosie eyes him warily as another patron calls for her attention. She looks over to you and gives a signal that says “ _I got you._ ”

The smoke from his cigarette reaches the bar before he does. He steps forward and asks, “Can I talk to you?”

“She’s kinda busy here, bro,” the flirty patron quips back at him.

Coco’s eyes narrow as he looks at him, scanning him up and down. “I ain’t your fuckin’ bro, hijo de tu pinche madre-” he starts to snarl.

“Johnny!” you hiss.

His hard eyes shift over to yours. You huff, knowing he’s not giving up. “Cover for me?” you ask Rosie.

She glares at Coco before nodding. You give him a gesture to follow you and stride out from behind the bar to the back exit. The sound of his footsteps trail behind you, and you forcibly push against the heavy door, making it swing open. Once outside, you turn on your heel to face him.

“Fuck is wrong with you?” you growl. “You can’t just show up at my work and make a scene.”

“I wouldn’t have to if you picked up your fuckin’ phone,” he snaps back. “What, you already movin’ on from me?” he gestures back to the building. “A day later?”

You cross your arms and shrug. “What does it matter? Our whole relationship’s bullshit anyway.”

“You don’t even know what the fuck really happened.”

“No?” you raise your eyebrows in disbelief. “Be fuckin’ real with me, Johnny. Did you start goin’ out with me ‘cause of a bet?”

He clenches his jaw and runs a rough hand through his hair. “Technically… yes.” You throw your hands up and attempt to push past him to go back inside, but he blocks you. “Whoa, whoa! Lemme fuckin’ finish!”

You push away from him, resuming your previous stance, and glower at him.

“Wanna know _why_ you were a fuckin’ bet? ‘Cause I was too much of a pendejo to ask you out myself.”

“Yeah, right,” you scoff.

“It’s the truth! Ask the guys, they’ll tell you.”

You roll your eyes and argue, “They’ll just go along with anything you say!”

Coco throws his head back in frustration. “ _Think about it, mujer._ Why the fuck would we come here so often? When we got our own bar at the fuckin’ clubhouse?”

“Maybe ‘cause Ez won’t do bitch work now that he’s patched?” you petulantly reply with a shrug.

He grumbles under his breath. “I kept comin’ here for _you_ , mensa.” Coco steps closer to you, his face tilted to yours. “If you were nothin’ but a bet, why am I here? Huh?” His voice is gruff but soft. “Why didn’t I drop you after you lemme hit it?”

Slowly, Coco moves closer, practically hovering over you. His presence consumes you, suddenly still as you meet his unwavering gaze. All you can do is lift your shoulders in a shrug in response.

His breath fans over your face. “Wanna know somethin’ else? I ain’t even take the money,” he confesses. “The bet wasn’t to make a joke out of you. It was to get me off my sorry ass, and ask out the fine hyna at the bar I been havin’ my eye on.”

The tension you’ve been holding in your body slowly dissolves. Coco notices and takes a chance by pulling you into a kiss. It’s soft and slow; he holds back as he doesn’t want to push his luck. He rests his forehead against yours once he pulls back.

“That’s it, mujer. La pura verdad.”

“You shoulda told me,” you admonish in a mumble, not wanting to let him completely off the hook. “Finding out like that…”

“I know,” he sighs. “That’s my bad.”

You let him hold you for a moment, basking in the warmth of being back in his arms. Neither of you pull back until a yell of your name interrupts the calm night.

“What the hell?” Rosie asks with her hands on her hips as she takes in the sight of you and Coco hugged up together.

“We’re good, Rosie,” you tell her.

Her eyebrows raise in disbelief, looking from you to Coco. “Really, girl? Is the dick that good?”

“Oh, my god,” you scoff, used to but unprepared for her brazen words. “Look, I’ll explain later. I gotta go back to your place and pick up my stuff anyway.”

She hums in dissatisfaction but leaves the topic there. “I need you back in here.”

“Okay, gimme a minute.”

Rosie leaves with one more glower at Coco and returns inside.

“So you comin’ back home?” he asks.

You raise an eyebrow at him and tease, “You tryna get rid of me now?”

Coco smiles and turns to put his arm around your shoulder as you start making your way back inside.

“Never.”


End file.
